1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an extendable support and is particularly adapted for use with rural mailboxes located along a roadside.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Rural mailboxes are generally mounted on posts secured in the ground along the roadside. In northern rural parts of the country, the large amount of snowfall during the winter months necessitates frequent snow plowing which in turn results in large snow banks along the roadside. These snow banks often bury most or all of the mailbox and its support, thereby rendering it inaccessible to the deliverer of the mail. Frequently, the mailbox and support are struck by a snowplow, causing damage to both. In southern rural parts of the country, the roadways have little or no shoulders, and drop off sharply into drainage ditches running along the sides of the roadways. The mailboxes which are mounted on posts placed in these narrow shoulders are so close to the edge of the roadway that they are frequently struck and damaged by passing vehicles.
Numerous attempts have been made to avoid both of these problems. Many of these involve the mounting of the mailbox at the end of a horizontal arm attached to a support post. Because the mailbox extends out from the post and is closer to the road, it is more accessible to the mail deliverer. If the banks of snow made by the snowplow are small, only part of the post will be buried in the snow. However, because the mailbox is more accessible, it is also more likely to be struck by a snowplow or other passing vehicle and severely damaged.
Typical mailbox supports in which the mailbox is mounted on a horizontal arm extending out from a post anchored in the ground are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 730,806, 839,607, 910,613, 969,965, 1,430,476, 1,645,768, 1,958,677, 2,550,338, 3,465,944, 3,870,262, 3,881,650, 4,113,213, 4,130,239 and 4,264,032. Each of these prior art supports has drawbacks which have prevented it from being an ideal solution to the problems discussed above. For example, the extension arms disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 730,806, 839,607, 910,613, 969,965, 1,430,476 and 1,958,677 are rigidly attached to the vertical supporting post so that if they are struck by a passing vehicle they will be extensively damaged and most likely broken off from the vertical post. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,113,213 and 4,130,239 disclose mailbox supports rotatably mounted to arms which are rigidly supported by vertical posts. Because the arms are secured rigidly to the posts, the mailboxes mounted on the rotatable supports would still be extensively damaged upon being struck by a passing vehicle. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,645,768, 2,550,338 and 3,881,650 disclose mailbox supports having horizontal supporting arms pivotally secured to the vertical posts and provided with spring means for returning the horizontal arms to their original location after they have been struck by passing vehicles. However, the construction of these supports is mechanically complex, which impedes the practicality of these designs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,032 discloses a hinged, foldable mailbox arm for curb-to-door mail retrieval that is likewise mechanically complex, and hence less than an ideal solution to the problem. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,262 discloses a mailbox support having a swingable horizontal bar which when struck disengages from its support and lands upon the ground along the side of the road. However, when struck by a snowplow, a mailbox having such a support would be knocked to the ground and quickly covered with the snow being removed from the roadway. Such a mailbox buried in snow could easily be inadvertently crushed by either the snowplow or any other passing vehicle.
Thus, there is clearly a need for a mailbox support which provides a practical, simple and economical solution to the serious problems associated with rural roadside mailboxes.